Does anybody know of any academic work that has looked at, or mentioned, superstitions about willmaking in the early modern period? I am sure I once came across something discussing how it was considered unlucky to make your will unless you were actually dying.

Great to see this article in the Guardian yesterday. It has already been a hell of a . Are Febrile and mutinous”? Yes. But also ‘positive and hopeful’. www.theguardian.com/education/20... #DefendExeterUni.

Fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts

Rowan Williams and Mark Kermode join campaign against proposed cuts for arts and social sciences

theguardian.com

You may have seen reports of the devastating cuts that I & my colleagues in history at Exeter are facing. Thousands have already signed a petition to try & stop this attack on the humanities. But we need more help. Please consider signing the petition & share as widely as possible. c.org/wW5jZVLSJR

Sign the Petition

Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter

c.org

'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.

The Crisis in Britain’s Universities

The cuts that have been proposed at the University of Exeter demonstrates the crisis of purpose in Britain’s universities. Should not universities also be places to prepare for "eternal dwellings"?

johnheathershaw.substack.com

Share the petition: can you help? Over 10% academic jobs at University of Exeter deemed at risk. c.org/6Ts66GxFwb

Sign the Petition

Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter

c.org

is this heat stroke or shock ask hundreds of University of Exeter employees this evening

Dr Laura Sangha@lsangha.bsky.social · last mo.

Along with almost all of my colleagues in history, this afternoon I got an email telling me that I am at risk of redundancy. It looks like the University of Exeter sent this email to the vast majority of people in Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty. Bit hard to breath right now.

Exeter Green Party stands in solidarity with the Exeter University and College Union in condemning the University of Exeter’s announcement of sweeping job cuts. These plans will recklessly imperil the University’s vital contributions to the social, cultural, and economic life of the city. 1/4

A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.

A lovely mention about my new article about discomfort and sickness in 18thc English coach travel: delighted to have made the coveted ‘most read’ list ❤️ www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Can anyone suggest any articles relating to the importance of writing in the 18th century, relating to travel. I don’t mean actual travel writing in the sense of narratives and guidebook, but rather the physical act of writing, and the importance of writing equipment for travellers.

After a little break from writing, my brand new article about the discomforts and embodied experience of travelling by carriage in the 18th century is now available open access on the Social History of Medicine website: @uniofexeternews.bsky.social academic.oup.com/shm/advance-...

Jolted, Stewed, and Jumbled: Motion, Discomfort, and the Body in English Coach Travel, c. 1660–1820

Abstract. This article explores the embodied experience of coach travel in England, c. 1660–1820, focusing on motion, discomfort, and sensory engagement. U

academic.oup.com

A question for fashion/ historians: I’ve come across a reference to “cordibecks for travelling” in an 18th century advertisement. I think these might be hats. Can anybody confirm or correct?!.

Looks like Del Boy and Rodney were up to their tricks earlier than we thought. This from 1798…’Trotter’s Oriental Dentifrice’!

www.instagram.com/p/DYmTFnsiNo...

If anybody has any references in letters or diaries to cuts or rashes caused by shaving in the 17th and 18th centuries, I would be very grateful if you wouldn’t mind sharing them.

Until today, I didn’t know that the word ‘habiliments’ existed, meaning the trappings or clothing linked to someone’s job, status or way of life.

a man in a suit says brilliant while standing next to a woman

ALT: a man in a suit says brilliant while standing next to a woman

media.tenor.com

Currently doing some work on feelings of bodily discomfort while travelling. One common affliction was a sore bum caused by long journeys on horseback. One 18thc vicar noted that his backside was so sore that he dipped it into the river for relief. What must passers-by have thought?!

"A barrage on the senses." Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @dralun.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe dralun.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/j...

Jolted and Jumbled: Riding in a Sedan Chair in the 18th Century

If there is one form of transport that perhaps typifies the 18th century more than any other, it is a sedan chair.  Recently I have been doing some work on stage coaches, and the experien…

dralun.wordpress.com

www.linkedin.com/posts/univer...

Historian exchanges academic journals for TikTok in new BBC Radio 4 series - News | University of Exeter

Do you fancy yourself as an influencer? One of our modern medical history academics features in a new BBC Radio 4 documentary exploring the promise and potential pitfalls of chasing influencer status ...

linkedin.com

Jolted and Jumbled: Riding in a Sedan Chair in the 18th Century If there is one form of transport that perhaps typifies the 18th century more than any other, it is a sedan chair. Recently I have been doing some work on stage coaches, and the experience of what it was actually like to travel in…

Just found a reference to a Swiss duchess making a 390-mile journey from her home to Paris…in a sedan chair!! Think of the poor guys carrying it! Blog post to follow next week.

a man is kneeling on the floor in a gym

ALT: a man is kneeling on the floor in a gym

media.tenor.com

Just passed a very nice afternoon in the literary company of, amongst others. Jeremy Bentham, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Hester Lynch Piozzi and Jane Austen. Research for a new article which is coming along nicely.

In records of folklore from Shropshire, “a person whose teeth are far apart is born to travel”.

Currently spending a happy few hours trawling through Victorian folklore collections, looking for evidence of customs and superstitions surrounding travel. Finding some great ones!

Today starts with an espresso, trip to physio for knackered back and knee, then, (🤞🏻🤞🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻) a bit of writing for the potential new book.

My copy of @benltjackson.bsky.social’s ‘Material Masculinities’ arrived yesterday and already half way through it. Excellent stuff & really enjoying it & learning a lot.

Currently doing a bit of research on Welsh Mariners wills. That of Morgan Morgans of Swansea (d.1710) sounds a bit piratey! His only goods consisted of an old bed, 4 muskets and two pistols, his clothes, and a small barrel…cue a spirited shanty about a dead man’s rum!

vm.tiktok.com/ZNddX4BpM/ A new post about the deadly art of cutting your nails in the 18th century!

Calling all Exeter academics... have you noticed the videos we've been collaborating on with @dralun.bsky.social on TikTok & Instagram? Would you like to work on similar videos to showcase your research to reach a wider audience? If so, drop us an email at socialmedia@exeter.ac.uk lnkd.in/eRyDEiu8

Perhaps I’m getting old, but every movie trailer I seem to see these days has some combination of a character looking rapidly from side to side, an evil person saying something threatening in a deep voice, some acrobatic fighting, and someone running into battle shouting “aaaaaaah”